Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-12-11
TNDECENUY ON A RAMPAGE.
A Lecture to Newspapers Of th
Distracting Sort.

A Lecture to Newspapers Of tho
Distracting Sort.
Now that the elections are over, We
should think that at least half dozer
editors, VIII ON we could name--seek
ing come quiet corner for a calm retro
spect of the part each bore in the
mud-ba,tles that preceded them
would find plenty of reason to blusl
for: shame.
Those to whom We refer are not O
the festive, rural rooster species
Neither do they inhabit the slums oi
the great cities. They have been
used to the company Of good people.
They are wont to consider themsel' es
respectable persons. Any one Of them
would resent the suggestion that he IL
no gentleman or man OF honor. YET
claiming the positions OF scholarship
and critics, and pretending to guard
the public morals, they have de-
bauched all decency and violated
every principle OF just responsibility.
Never in the Whole history OF jour
naljsm has the press sunk so low in
filth and so wallowed, groveled and
xeveled in preferred nastiness. In
vective without force; epithets with
out relevancy; dirt without Wit, has
been the rule from first to last. There
il no one of them who has not richly
deserved to be ducked in horse pond
by an outraged public, whilst each,
by his personal assaults, has invited
breaches OF the peace innumerable.
Strange to say, not one OF these edl-
tors but sets up for great man; not
one of them but is rich and inde-
pendent; not one of them but piques
himself upon the loftiness OF his par.
ticnlar newspaper; not one of
them has .derided the petty
s0i1abbles OF the small fry.
Could Little Pedlington'sm'' so
father than they have carried it ?
Could provincial ignorance, "
coarse bigotry, bullying rampant, a
vulgar nature and reckless disre-
gard OF truth emblazon themselves
more palpably and revoltingly il
printers ink? Truly, we think not; !;
and yet, under all this professional
dGfilement there are not wanting,
when individualized, virtues OF the
manifest description, tender regard
for domestic cleanliness, scrupulous
respect for private honor, sound pa
triotism ant true morality. Why is
it? We give it up. Perhaps there
are epidemics of ofcontagious indecency
just as there are epidemics of con-
tagious disease.
It should be the care OF every self.
respecting writer for the press to say
nothing of any man in print which he
would not say to his face. The appli-
cation to this rule of two seconds oi
reflection will denude the matter Sc
prepared of much that is gratuitousl,
offensive and improper. 1t is a rule,
too, which springs from a true sense
of both responsibility and courage,
and, at the same time, which aims al
paying the public no greater homage
!. than the public has right to expec,
from its self-imposed instructors.
The loose treatment of private char
acter by the newspaper of the period
has indeed become, even outside o1
partisan politics, scandal to jour
nalism; whilst. within the confines Of
party warfare, it has grown so reck.
less and wanton as to neutralize the
effect OF Just arraignment and criticism
Of public men. Why should the press
make such sacrifice of it-elf upon
the altars of party spirit? Why shOull
any reasonable and fair editor wish
to discredit his adversary because Of
ADHERENCE of opinion on questions OF
public policy individually, perhaps,
concerning neither OF them? There
is but one proper way to make a
charge. That is to state it and
prove it. Low words do not
strengthen it. They are merely the
resorts of malice, or the shifts OF a
want Of sense. Like curses. they are
meant for emphasis, and, like curses,
they generally come home to roost.
We are aware that it can and may be
said, and truly said, that the press
often puts itself to pains by its sup
pressions to save private character.
There is no doubt of this. But the
fault lies in y failure to proceed on
fixed and Just laws and Adequately TO
discriminate. The average newspaper
u oversiven to washing its dirty linen
in public. Notwithstanding that the
average reader is overgiven to the
perusAl OF abuse, in the long run con-
sistent decency will be found most
profitable as well as most weighty and
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS..
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